Welcome to this live blog. My name is Nemo Schillemans and I will keep you informed of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France. Have fun!
The lonely Powless captured. In the background, we see Tobias Foss of INEOS Grenadiers, among others, trying to ride towards him.
160 km remaining – For now, Powless is still riding alone in front. The American has gained a lead of 35 seconds. It’s impressive, but he will really need reinforcement if he wants to keep this up for longer.
163 km remaining – Neilson Powless is taking off from the peloton. But who will make the crossing to the American from EF Education? He won’t make it alone.
Départ réel! We are off in France! Who will join the battle for the early breakaway?
Busy at the start, just before the start of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France.
One of the surprises of the Tour de France so far: Oscar Onley (right). The Scotsman from Team Picnic-PostNL is only 22 years old and is currently fourth in the general classification. He already has a gap of 9 minutes and 18 seconds to yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar. But he is only 1 minute and 25 seconds behind the number three in the classification, Florian Lipowitz. The battle for third place is wide open after Remco Evenepoel’s abandonment yesterday. Kévin Vauquelin and Primoz Roglic are also still in great shape.
Départ fictif! We have started the neutralization of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France! At 1:30 PM, the battle for the early breakaway will start again in France.
Will we also see a small battle in the general classification today? In yesterday’s tough mountain stage, Jonas Vingegaard tried to get away from Pogacar, but his Slovenian competitor stayed effortlessly on his wheel. Perhaps there will be opportunities for Vingegaard on the Pas du Sant (3 kilometers at 9.2 percent). But the biggest opportunities seem to lie in the Alps next week.
Van der Poel has a cold: ‘Today is a question mark’The cold continues to haunt Mathieu van der Poel in the Tour de France. “I’m not recovering very well. Today is therefore a question mark,” says the Dutchman to Sporza. Van der Poel has marked the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France, he admits. It is mainly the climb of the second category that will probably make or break the stage today. “That first part is extremely difficult. It depends on which riders you are riding with there. If you are with better climbers, it should be possible to be dropped as a classic rider.”
Anyone who takes a look at today’s course will see that there are opportunities for Mathieu van der Poel. The last climb of the stage looks quite tough. The Pas du Sant (3 kilometers at 9.2 percent) will probably make or break this stage for Van der Poel.
The profile of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France.
Cofidis is the team that has collected the least prize money so far, about 4,870 euros to be precise. By comparison, the leader of that ranking, UAE Team Emirates, is already at 82,720 euros.
There are also opportunities today in the battle for the green jersey, for Mathieu van der Poel. The green jersey is now still owned by Jonathan Milan 📸, but Van der Poel is only 61 points behind the Italian in the standings. At the intermediate sprint, after 60 kilometers today, there are 20 points up for grabs. And at the finish, there are no less than 50 points for the rider who crosses the line first. What will the relationships be like after today?
Wout van Aert has not yet won a Tour stage this year. His best result so far is the second place in the flat eighth stage from Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval. In the stage from Toulouse to Toulouse, where he rode in the chasing group for a long time, Van Aert had to settle for fifth place. What can the Belgian do today?
Favorites for stage victory:⭐⭐⭐ Van der Poel 📸, Van Aert, Stuyven⭐⭐ Van Poppel, Wright, Abrahamsen 📸
⭐ Simmons, Schmid, Laurance
Okay, now back to focusing on today. Who are the contenders? When we think of a tough hilly stage, we quickly focus on Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman has already won a stage in the Tour de France this year, and wore yellow for a few days. There are certainly opportunities today, but there are several candidates.
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But first, a look back at yesterday, when Thymen Arensman became the second Dutch stage winner of this Tour de France. In a grueling mountain stage through the Pyrenees, Arensman was the first to the top after a solo of 35 kilometers.
We count three categorized climbs. The first two are of the third category, the third is of the second category:
The day before the second and final rest day of this Tour de France, there is a tough hilly stage from Muret to Carcassonne on the program.